Today electronic music artist Fabian Krooss joined us to chat about the vibrant spectrum of styles, inspirations, and collaborations that shaped his debut album Colorfuel.
Fabian Krooss, a rising DJ based in Berlin, has officially released his debut album, Colorfuel. With a cascade of singles preceding its release, Colorfuel promises to showcase Fabian Krooss’ signature blend of energetic rhythms and effervescent curiosity. From soulful Chicagoan vibes to dream-pop-infused electronica, Fabian Krooss showcases a remarkable range of styles, each track a hue in the spectrum of his musical palette. As we delve into the depths of Colorfuel, we spoke with Krooss to unravel the inspirations, collaborations, and creative processes that shaped his debut album.
As a debut album, Colorfuel is a significant milestone for you. Looking back at the process of creating this album, what were some of the most rewarding moments?
The most rewarding moments were without a doubt the moment Oliver Koletzki asked me to release an album with A Tribe Called Kotori as well as the moment I held the vinyl in my hands or the first time. In this digital world, we live in, it’s quite special to finally release a whole album on Vinyl. I’m so happy with the artwork by Lisa Ghio as well; it truly fulfills me to look at this thing.
‘Colorfuel’ spans a wide range of emotions and styles. How did you create such a diverse sonic landscape while maintaining cohesion throughout the album?
It does. I’d say this is just the way I work. I approach every track I make differently and come up with different ideas. As for the cohesion, this is just due to my preferences in sound design the way I approach harmonics and melodies, and also the synthesizers I work with. Another thing that brings cohesion, I feel, is the way I design my drums. For a while, I didn’t necessarily think that I had a certain style, but for a couple of years, people often recognized if something was made by me or not as my sound is so unique. This makes me very happy as I feel like originality in music is something really important and something that often is also not the case as quite a few producers out there just ‘copy’ what they like instead of
being original.
Each track seems to tell its own story. Can you share some insights into the inspirations behind some of the standout tracks, such as “‘Oh Darlin'”, “Move Your Booty”, and “Coquin”?
I made “Oh Darlin’” already more than a year ago and to be honest I can’t quite tell how it came to life. I just know it’s my favorite track on the album and represents me and my style of producing and DJing the most.
As for “Move your Booty” and “Coquin,” I do have a story to tell though. Last year I was asked to play my very first live set at Fusion Festival. This request came about six weeks before the festival – not much time to prepare such a thing. Anyway, I wanted to do something fresh and tried to produce one track a day. In the first week, I made seven tracks in seven days
, and “Coquin” and “Move your Booty” were two of them. While producing, I thought about the vibes of an early morning at the Panne Eichel floor, which I’ve been to many times and I tried to catch the vibe in these two tracks. Lastly, I switched my tracklist though and didn’t feature these tunes in the live set as it didn’t fit in time-wise.
Collaboration plays a significant role in your album, with features from artists like Atish, Frida Darko, and Samaha. How did these collaborations come about, and how did they influence the direction of the tracks they appear on?
I mainly produce at home alone. Every producer has their way of working, their signature, and their skills and talents. Collaborating is inspiring in many ways. By collaborating you fuse these talents and skills and make something different than usual. I don’t like to sing but wanted to feature vocals on “Phoenix.” I then met up with Frida Darko, who’s a close friend of mine, and we had a couple of super fun sessions with the track. It’s also nice to have company in the studio now and then and not constantly stare at the screen alone. Atish and Samaha, on the other hand, I visited when I was in the States last year and as passionate music lovers, what else would you do than sit down together in the studio for at least one day? We’ve known each other’s music for a while and it was great to finally sit together and create something together.
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“Staring” and “Mtende” evoke a sense of wanderlust and exploration. Were there any particular places or experiences that inspired these tracks, and how did you translate those inspirations into music?
I rarely have a specific concept in mind before I start a track. I just feel a certain vibe and see what ideas I end up with. Sometimes I get an idea early on in the track, sometimes I finish a track and think for weeks about what the name could be. While working on the track, I had the idea to call it “Mtende,” which is a beach in Zanzibar where I spent a super special day two years ago while I was there to play the U and a Few Festival. The track captured the day for me perfectly and in the progress of working on the track I certainly was inspired by that day and tried to match the vibe.
“Staring” was made in collaboration with Samaha while I was visiting him in Seattle last year. He has such a beautiful studio, with lots of plants and moving lights. Such a cozy place! The music I make is always a result of how I feel and I think the studio setting as well as exploring Seattle for the first time definitely had an influence on that and so did Samaha himself of course. When collaborating I always want to find a common ground. All the artists I collaborated with make different music than I do and I find it inspiring to meet somewhere in the middle. The name happened to come to Anthony’s head by coincidence and we then added it in a voice generation plugin and suddenly had the vocal of the track and hence also the name.
“Inside of Me” and “Manaki” showcase a more introspective and experimental side of your production. What motivated you to explore these darker, more intricate sonic landscapes?
Life is not always peace, joy, and pancakes, as we’d say in German. I guess you get my drift. I believe contrasts to be extremely important. There’s winter and summer, light and dark, fast and slow. And so there are different kinds of vibes in music. In my sets, I often switch genres and surprise the listener with something fresh. A happy bouncy track hits differently after a slightly darker track due to the contrast and relief of tension. It’s no different in my album. I created the album over one year, some in winter some in summer, and went through different phases in my life that certainly had an impact on my music-making. It would be boring to always follow the same pattern.
“Back to the Oldschool” and “Tied in Knots” seem to pay homage to classic sounds while infusing them with modern twists. How do you balance paying homage to the past with pushing the boundaries of contemporary electronic music?
As a music producer, I love to try out new things. Get inspired by new music I hear or by new synthesizers or tools that I work with. It’s in my nature to try new things out and constantly evolve my sound. And when it comes to the past. All kinds of music I hear inspires me, as well as old music. I play new tracks as well as tracks that have been released over a decade ago. Everything I hear has the potential to inspire me. I don’t necessarily purposely pay homage to the past, rather subconsciously I’d say.
The track ‘Your Soul’ carries a sense of spiritual elevation with its solid club-focused engineering. Can you elaborate on the creative process behind this track and how you aimed to evoke a sense of spiritual connection through music?
“Your Soul” is one of my favorite tracks on the album. With its versatility and complexity, it takes you on a journey throughout. A driving bassline made with my Model D as well as chords by my Prophet layered with other synths. The vocal transports a powerful message that I resonate with a lot. The music I make comes straight from my soul. Whereas many parts of music-making are rather technical, the core is emotional. A track-only comes to life when I fully connect with the idea that’s at the core. Once I added the vocal, the message of the track became even clearer to me, and therefore I took this track a bit further in terms of all the little details and the arrangement to stay true to the message it contains.
“Elasticity” stands out for its precise and versatile construction. What were some of the challenges you faced in creating a track that seamlessly blends straightforward jack with more prog-minded elements?
I made “Elasticity” in collaboration with Atish last year in New York. It started with a jam in his studio, he then later did a pre-arrangement of the track which I’ve then refined in the following months in my studio, while always sharing the progress and asking for feedback. This track features different parts and elements that you wouldn’t necessarily expect together, something I generally love in music. I like to combine opposing parts and elements in my productions to create unexpected moments and little surprises. As mentioned before, I love contrasts. Most tracks revolve around one main idea but I often like to combine different ideas that I collect in the beginning. The challenge then is to connect all these dots in the arrangement and mixdown to make sense together. I like the contrast of the rather uplifting main part that goes in a progressive and rather cheerful direction vs the more minimal drops before and after.
“Phoenix” and “Move Your Booty” exude energy and vibrancy, perfect for festival settings. How do you envision these tracks coming to life in a live performance setting, and what do you hope audiences take away from experiencing them live?
As mentioned before, I made “Move your Booty” thinking about a sunny morning at Fusion Festival. Kinda after hours vibes as I was playing from 10-11 am. I made it to bring a different more laid-back and groovy side to my live set that’s more bass-focused rather than too synth-driven. Phoenix, on the other hand, started as a rather chill try to make a fluffy mid-tempo track. The track was lying on my hard drive until Frida Darko came to visit me. We wanted to work on a tune together for a while, opened the project, and started working on some vocals. It clicked quite soon into the session and we knew this was it. In the sessions that followed I tried to give the track a bit more of an edge, trying to match Frida’s sound a bit more. Yet we also felt like this is going to be more of a listening track rather than a club track. Frida’s sound is often quite a bit darker whereas my sound is often quite a bit faster and fluffier. So funny enough, we’ll likely not play the original that much ourselves.
Oliver Koletzki’s amazing remix on the other hand will for sure find its way in a couple of my sets. And to answer your second question. What people take away from these two tracks are probably two quite different things as the tracks differ quite a bit I feel. For some tracks, I could give you a straight answer to the question but with these two tracks, I’d rather ask the question right back and ask you what you take away from it.
What do you hope listeners ultimately feel and experience when they listen to “Colorfuel”?
My music is quite colorful and uplifting, hence the name “Colorfuel.” I want people to get lost in all the little details, get inspired by them, and just have a good time, whether that’s on the dance floor, in your living room, or out on the street with headphones on. I hope you like the album and can’t wait to hear what emotions it evokes in you. I already got such sweet messages that warmed my heart. One is “Your Album brought me out of the hardest times. You and your sound bring so much joy. Thank you.” This just leaves me with a big smile, feeling super grateful for being able to bring people joy with what I do!
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